The sheer, astonishing waste.
Canuck Crypto
An organization simply purchased 4 Canadian pure gasoline energy crops to mine Bitcoin.
Hut 8, one of many largest digital asset mining firms in North America, made its “stalking horse bid,” a binding supply to purchase out an bancrupt firm, final month, however solely declared the bid profitable in a press launch this week.
Whereas the takeover continues to be conditional on the approval of the Ontario Superior Courtroom of Justice, the information highlights the persistent urge for food of miners to grab up decommissioned powerplants to mine crypto, an immensely power-intensive and environmentally damaging course of. Corporations have been refurbishing coal-fired power plants to mine cryptocurrencies, regardless of loads of native and environmental opposition.
Coal and Fuel
The 4 pure gasoline energy crops, that are unfold out all through the Canadian province of Ontario, generate a mixed 310 megawatts, giving Hut 8 loads of electrical energy to mine crypto with. The corporate already has mining amenities in Canada, New York, Nebraska, and Texas.
Regardless of its deliberate growth, the corporate has fallen on powerful occasions as of late. Within the third quarter of this 12 months, the corporate’s web loss greater than doubled in comparison with Q3 of final 12 months, as Coindesk reports.
Different miners have fared better than Hut 8, benefiting from the rebounding value of Bitcoin, which had beforehand dropped to historic lows in 2022.
Earlier this 12 months, Hut 8 needed to shut down a Bitcoin mining site in North Bay, Ontario, on account of a dispute with vitality supplier Validus Energy. Sarcastically, the corporate is now trying to purchase energy crops from the identical supplier, together with one in North Bay. Validus Energy was forced into bankruptcy in September.
Using pure gasoline and coal energy crops to mine crypto has been met with loads of opposition over time, from noise complaints to environmental advocates highlighting the dangers of groundwater contamination and pollution.
Earlier this 12 months, a Pennsylvania crypto firm was met with shock by native residents and environmentalists after announcing plans to burn tires to gas its Bitcoin mining operation.
In brief, the environmental value of mining Bitcoin and different crypto is appreciable, and Hut 8’s newest acquisition — if it does find yourself being authorised by lawmakers — will seemingly solely add to the drama.
Extra on mining crypto: Crypto Mining Rig Discovered Under Floor of Courthouse, Stealing Power
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